Rebuilding
by MannixMind
Summary: Begins after season 4 mid season finale *spoiler alert* following Beth and Daryl, and meeting up with other members of the group. Rated M to leave the options open... Anticipate romance and drama.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Her ears were ringing from the sound of gunshots and explosions, but somehow through all the notice she could still hear the frantic pounding of her heart as she searched for the kids.

Had they been shot in the attack?

Had they panicked and forgotten where to go?

"Lizzie! Mika!"she cried out, hoping against hope that this time they'd hear her and come running.

"Beth!"

The call that came in response was gruff and masculine but flooded her with relief.

'Daryl.'

She whipped around to see him striding towards her, crossbow in hand, his eyes flitting around for approaching walkers.

"I can't find the kids they weren't on the bus!" She blurted out. He'd help her, he'd know what to do.

She saw his eyes dart past her and heard the twang of his crossbow followed by the thud of a walker hitting the ground a few yards behind her.

"We gotta go, Beth." He replied, taking a few steps towards her. He used the same blunt tone she was used to hearing from him, his eyes seemed to be pleading with her.

"We gotta go." He repeated in a softer voice. She looked around one last time, hoping for some sign of the children, or anything else from her life at the prison which could ground her bock to where she'd been that morning. But all she saw were more walkers slowly flooding through the fences and descending on the newly dead and dying.

Swallowing down the tears and nausea that threatened to overwhelm her she set her jaw and nodded grimly to Daryl, following him wordlessly away from the prison.

He led them straight into the woods, motioning for hew to follow behind him closely. With the noise of the prison behind them, the thumping of her heartbeat seemed to fill her ears. Being out in the woods after so long felt exposed. She shivered involuntarily, and exhaled nervously trying to calm her nerves. Daryl looked back at her questioningly but said nothing.

In silence the walked on, running parallel but out of sight of the road. Every hour or so they'd spot a walker and put it down as quietly as possible, never muttering more then the necessary "over there."

By the time Daryl spoke again in earnest the sun had started to set and Beth felt dead on her feet. Though they seemed to simply be walking away from the prison, Daryl had clearly had some sense of where they were heading, because as he stopped and turned to her Beth could see the trees thinning into a grassy yard behind him.

"Gotta find a place to stop tonight." He muttered. "Should be a house here the walkers haven't gotten back into. Won't be much in the way of food though- we hit this neighborhood months ago."

Beth nodded in agreement, feeling for the first time the slight awkwardness of the situation. Unlike her sister, she's never frequented the supply runs. Her and Daryl knew each other of course, and she trusted him with her life ten times over, but as they broke into the second house on the cul de sac and barred the door back shut together, she realized this was the most prolonged time alone she'd spent with him in over a year of living together.

The thought made her feel awkward and profoundly lonely, and like a switch had flipped all of a sudden the emotional weight of the day came crashing down on her all at once. Her home was gone, she'd lost the kids and left without finding them, she didn't know where Maggie was... And daddy... Her poor poor daddy...

She sank to the floor gasping to breath over the powerful sobs that wracked her body. She felt a twinge of embarrassment at the thought of Daryl seeing her like this, but it was nothing compared to the pain of the day.

'Let him think I'm even weaker than he already did,' she thought defiantly. But then he was crouching down next to her, his strong bare arm cradling her against his chest, as she sobbed on.

"You're ok. I've got you." He murmured. And she sat there cradled against his chest until her sobs turn to hiccups, and the exhaustion of the day finally won out.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Beth woke up the next day to the pleasant heat of sun shining through the window. It had been months since she slept in, and she realized with a pang that without Judith fussing there was nothing to wake her before the sun came up.

Daryl must have carried her upstairs after she fell asleep, because she was lying in a twin bed in what must have once been a little boys' bedroom. She sat up, looking around and saw Daryl, sitting with his back against the foot of the bed with his crossbow in hand.

"Morning," she said sleepily, but he didn't respond. Cautiously, she crept to the bottom of the bed. He was fast asleep, still sitting upright as if he had fallen asleep mid-watch.

"Daryl-" she began reaching out her hand to wake him.

The second her hand made contact with his shoulder he sprang to life, spinning around and pinning her back to the bed with one arm, his crossbow cradled in the other. She stared up at him her eyes wide with fear and surprise.

"Sorry! I'm sorry, I didn't mean to surprise you!"

He rolled off of her breathing heavily, trying to get his heart rate back in check.

"S'alright," he muttered walking across the room to put distance between them, "just jumpy these days that's all."

"I should've known, I'm sorry," She said again, climbing out of the bed and making up the bedsheets to avoid the awkwardness of the situation.

"We should get going- try'n find a car," Daryl suggested. He began running mentally through their last visit to the cul de sac, trying to remember if there were any cars they didn't bother syphoning the gas out of. Unfortunately for them, on the last visit he'd come with Glenn, who always managed to be meticulous in his own casual way. There only hope would be the cars left in the garages at the end of the street, and even there with that he didn't have much hope.

An hour later they sat in their third garage with a pitcher of gas they'd managed to syphon out of eight different cars. With over a year living in fear of the dead, they both knew that the car they chose could be the difference between life and death. Getting stuck with a car without four wheel drive confined them to the roads, and lift could mean the difference between being able to plow through a heard and getting trapped in the car. They decided their best option was a Subaru Forester. It had been half packed at the time the owners' home was overrun, though now most of the things in the car had been ruined by decomposing food. The car still carried the musty scent, but they'd lost the ability to be choosey about smell around the time they left the farm.

"I'm going to leave a sign. In case someone else comes," she murmured quietly, clutching a can of paint. "I'll be right back."

He hated the idea of her outside alone but he grunted in consent and set his mind to getting the car up and running. Beth reappeared five minutes later, and after a few more minutes of cursing and coaxing Daryl got the car started. As they pulled out into the Daryl saw the mark she'd drawn on the previously white garage door. A crossbow stood out in fresh forest green paint with "1 Day After Hershel" written in neat feminine hand writing beneath it. He felt oddly bashful that the sign was so centered on him, and as they drove away he muttered uncomfortably, "how'll they you're with me?"

"Maggie knows my handwriting," she said quietly staring out the window without looking up. "Without daddy and Carol, no one else is whose left will wonder much about me anyway."

"S'not true," Daryl murmured softly, though he couldn't think of the right way to tell her just how wrong she was to think it.

Now that the car was running the question they'd been putting off the whole morning sprang back into his mind. Where were they going? Should they double back to the prison? Or try the other neighborhoods around the prison to see if they could round up any of the others? When they got to the state highway Beth looking up at him expectantly.

"Where are we going to go?" she asked. Daryl had grown over their months at the prison to accept his role as more of a decision maker in the group, but not as she looked up at him with her trusting blue eyes he realized though she was willing to defer to his judgment he still wanted to bounce ideas off someone else. Even if the others had escaped, he knew without a planned rendez-vous point there was a chance they'd go weeks or months without crossing paths with them again. Rick was a smart man and a good leader and even he'd fucked up making decisions on his own. However long he and Beth were on their own, he needed to make sure the decisions were shared. She'd been the one smart enough to remember to mark the house, afterall.

"I's thinkin we could try the town just north of here. It's bout the same distance from the prison if you left a different way. There's a chance some of us made for there. I know your sister'd know where it was. What do you think?"

"That sounds like a good start," she replied, and smiling in surprise at him for asking, she turned back to peer out the window.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

The town of Luthersville, Georgia wasn't really much of a town at all even before the dead began to rise, boasting little besides a worn-down post office and a few chain restaurants. They grocery store on the south side of town was the same one where they'd lost Zach, and Daryl glanced at Beth as they drove past it. He hadn't had much time to get to know Zach, but he'd seemed like an ok kid. He remembered him making pointed comments about wishing there was more privacy in the prison, and about the things he and Beth would be able to do if they could find a way to be alone for more than an hour.

Daryl found himself wondering if the kid had been bluffing or if things had really developed between the two teens that quickly. Beth didn't seem the sort by his estimation, but then Maggie was no saint and Beth hadn't had many romantic prospects during their time together anyway.

"What are you thinking?" She asked, shaking him from his thoughts.

"What! Nothin, ain't thinking bout anything in particular," he answered, sounding harsher than he'd meant to in his surprise.

"No," she said smiling a little "I mean about where to stop in town. Or how to go about looking for people. What did you have in mind?"

"Oh, right," he said, shaking himself again, "well your guess is as good as mine. Where you think your sister'd go? Good a chance as any she's callin' the shots for the group right now."

Beth considered that for a moment. Maggie would probably prioritize finding a place which could be easily secured with as few people as possible, given the fact that most of the people on the bus hadn't fully recovered from the illness. Security would win out over food, at least for the moment- so searching all the restaurants wouldn't work. Plus they could be overwhelmed with walkers going from place to place like that. Even then, without a strategy they might go around looking for each other endlessly. If she knew anything about her sister- it was that she would be looking for her. Maybe the best way to go about this was to make herself easy to find.

"Can we get up there?" Beth said, pointing at an eight story high-rise hotel by the highway, "It would give us the best view of anyone coming in or out of town- and if we could put a sign up that's the best chance they'd see it."

Daryl looked at the hotel skeptically. Were he with Rick, or Michonne, or even Carl he'd feel fairly confident about clearing the place… but with Beth? Sure she was capable of putting down walkers but clearing a hotel could involve downing only a handful or a few dozen. Besides the dozen or so arrows he had for his crossbow, they had about 15 rounds between them left for the two pistols and the rifle was shot. Beth had gathered up golf clubs from the houses they'd stopped in the night before, and he had one sturdy carving knife he liked to keep on him at all times. It was better than nothing, but they were far from armed to the teeth.

Still, it was by far the smartest way to go about it, and if they could clear the hotel they'd be in a much safer place then they were right now.

"Guess we'll find out."

Ten minutes later they were walking around the hotel surveying the scene. Most of the windows were still intact, but at some point walkers must have flooded through the glass paneling around the front entrance, because only shards of glass and the frame of the revolving door remained. What was harder to tell was whether they'd flooded in or out, and how recently. There were only two in the lobby when they came looking, but Daryl knew that didn't tell them much.

"Wish there was some way to know how many sum'bitches there were in there 'fore we go 'n bite ourselves off more'n we can chew." He mumbled, peering down one of the halls off the lobby.

"What if we played music?" Beth suggested shyly

"What?"

"Like, took one of the CDs in the car and cranked it not loud enough to attract walkers from far away but enough to draw these ones out?"

"Could work," Daryl said, thinking it over, "But I want you close to the car and ready to gun it out of here if we get over run understand?"

"Got it," Beth agreed, wondering why Daryl felt the need to give her extra protection. Maybe he still thought of her as a child and was doing the noble thing. The thought made her unhappy.

"Alright then, pick a tape 'n let's get this done." He said gruffly, cocking his crossbow up on his shoulder.

Beth rummaged through the center console until she found a song that she felt had too much zombie irony to pass up. Daryl may think she was a child, but at least she'd be a child with a sense of humor. Plus, she reflected as she pushed the CD into the entertainment center, he probably knew classic rock well enough to be embarrassed by the innuendo.

She walked back towards the hotel with a smile on her face for the first time since her father's death as Jim Morrisson's deep voice floated out from the cars speakers.

_COME ON! COME ON! COME ON!_

_Now touch me babe…_

_Can't you see, that I am not afraid…_


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

The Walkers stopped coming out of the hotel after about twenty minutes. There hadn't been that many of them and the small numbers made Daryl suspicious. Maybe there just hadn't been that many people in the hotel? Maybe there were more trapped inside rooms with no way out? Still... it seemed to him that they'd encountered surprisingly few walkers in the town and it gave him an unsettled feeling.

Slowly, they made there was through the halls. Here and there they could hear the sounds of walkers trapped in rooms scratching to get out, but for the most part they got through to the roof without too many run-ins with the undead. Before they got to the roof Beth grabbed a number of sheets off the beds on the fourth floor. She had brought a small can of paint from the garage with her when they left that morning, and with the last of it she painted a large crossbow on the tied together sheets. With Daryl's help she secured it to the roof. It didn't end up covering as much of the building as she'd expected, but it was definitely large enough to catch the eye of anyone coming through town or driving past on the highway.

"That should catch their eyes if anyone from our group comes through town," Beth said, peering down the side of the building and out across Luthersville, half hoping that Maggie had materialized instantly when she put out the sign. "You see any sign of anyone who's not a walker?"

Daryl shook his head, taking advantage of the height to get a clear view of the surrounding area. Octobers are fairly mild in Georgia, and the day was crisp and clear, but at best he estimated they could see about two miles in each direction. If someone came to town, they'd see them for sure, but if they never did…

He hated to think about it. The group had become closer than family to him, and now it was just him and this pretty smart little girl. No, not little girl. He remembered going to her to deliver the news about Zack's death. She'd looked resigned and upset, but she was no hysterical teenager. Not anymore. He remembered how she'd hugged him that night, ignoring his awkwardness and burying her head in his chest. It was different then comforting her over her father's death last night, then she'd been oblivious to anything but the pain, and he couldn't blame her.

But the first time… she'd known exactly what she was doing, and gone for it anyway. If these few days had proved anything, it was that Beth was the kind of girl who acted deliberately. While they had all been focused on running the prison she'd all but become a mother to Judith.

The thought of the baby snapped him back into the present. She'd let the question about seeing anyone hang, Beth wasn't the kind of person to push conversation when silence would do. She was just staring out over the town, lost in her own thoughts, the light of the late afternoon sun making her hair shine like pale gold. In that instant he knew that no matter if they found the others or not he'd lay down his life to make sure she survived. He was about to suggest they go down when she gasped and ran to the edge of the roof.

"Daryl! Do you see that?" she said pointing to a figure in the middle of the road on the other side of town. He couldn't make it out perfectly, but it was moving slowly towards the town. He wouldn't have picked it out from any other walker, except that it looked oddly misshapen in the front, when he saw it pivot, and clutch something in its hands.

Someone had arrived sooner than they expected.


	5. Chapter 5

_It could be Maggie. It could be Maggie._ Beth barely gave herself a second to think before she took off running towards the roof access. It could be Maggie, and if it was she had to get to her. Now.

"Beth wait- would you hold the fuck on?" Daryl growled hauling her back. "We don't know that more walkers ain't out in the halls. This ain't the prison. We'll go right now but you gotta let me go first."

He said it a little gruffly, but she knew him well enough to know that was just his way, he wasn't mad or upset, a little startled by her mad dash maybe, and he wanted to get out there as much as she did.

_I wonder who he wants it to be?_ She thought to herself as they made their way quickly through the dark halls of the hotel. One walker had made his way close to the car and Daryl dispatched him with a quick arrow before ripping open the drivers' side door and sliding into the car. She was buckled and ready to go in the same second, and within ten minutes of sighting the person on the roof they were in the car and driving towards the edge of town. Even with their speed, she was so anxious she was bouncing her legs up and down with nervous energy. Daryl gave her a side-long glance but said nothing.

As they turned onto Main Street Beth felt like her heart was going to beat out of her chest. Whoever it was must heard their car and ducked out of view because there was no one in site. A few walkers made their way towards the car, and for a devastating moment Beth thought they had imagined it.

"Downed Walkers," Daryl said nodding towards a body in the street. "We didn't do that, didn't come this way. It wasn' our imagination. You ready to look for 'em?"

He was right. There was wet walker blood oozing from one of the corpses in the road. This was a fresh kill. Someone was here.

"Lets do this," Beth said, clutching the golf club she'd picked up at the development.

They made quick work of the three walkers who'd approached the car, and no others were in the vicinity. But as they fought her heart sank. Anyone from their group would've come out of hiding the second they saw them get out of the car. Unless they'd hidden somewhere they couldn't see the street, this wasn't one of theirs at all. This person, whoever they were, was most likely a part of the group who'd ruined her home and killed her father, for no better reason than they wanted what someone else had.

Daryl must have come to the same conclusion, because he took the keys out of the ignition and locked the doors to the car- something you never did during the apocalypse- and signaled to Beth to get behind him. She did, and pulled her gun at the same time, glancing behind them.

"We seen you come into town, ain't no point in pretend'n you're not here," he called out. "We ain't lookin to hurt no one, just lookin to see if you've seen any of our friends."

A small gurgling sound came from behind a car parked across the street, and Daryl advanced, crossbow in hand. When they were just a few feet from the car, a young woman popped up with her hands above her head.

"Alright! Alright! I'll come out!" she said in a scared voice. "Just, give me a second, ok?" She had short, dark brown hair cut in a bob around her face and couldn't be more than a few years older than Beth, but in that moment, Beth didn't care how old she was. She recognized her, she was one of the people who'd been with the Governor, who'd stood by when her father had gotten ruthlessly murdered…

She moved her finger towards the trigger, ready to shoot, but as the girl shuffled around the end of the car she realized why she'd looked so oddly shaped from the roof. She'd taken an old beat up plaid button down and fashioned it into a sling baby carrier, and strapped snug against her torso sat Judith.

"JUDITH!" Beth screamed, making a move towards the woman, "Give me my baby!"

"Ok, ok! I didn't mean to take her I promise… I found her in a baby carrier and there were so many zee around that I needed both hands. She's fine I swear!" the stranger said, untying the sling hastily.

But Beth wasn't listening, the second the woman handed over the baby she took Judith in her arms clutching her as if the world depended on it. Then she handed her to Daryl, who clearly hadn't been expecting it but accepted the baby more out of confusion than anything else. As soon as Judith was safely in his arms Beth turned back to the woman, pointed her gun, and fired.


	6. Chapter 6

**Hope you guys like where this is going! After the mid-season finale I felt like I needed to address Judith ASAP. This chapter's a little shorter but I need it to move the story along, more to come soon! Please review!**

Chapter 6

"What the fuck!" Daryl found himself screaming as the woman crumpled to the floor. Beth hadn't aimed, and had always been a terrible shot, so the bullet him the woman in the side of her torso, but still, in this world that was as good as a death sentence.

Beth whirled around at him eyes wide with fury and passion as Judith broke out in a screaming cry.

"What? She's one of them. One of the people who came to the prison, one of the people who murdered my father!"

"Jesus I know, but fuck how could you just shoot her like that? Right after she handed Judith over to you! You know how fuckin dangerous it is to go 'round in this world with a baby strapped to you cryin out your location to every walker in a 10 mile radius? 'N then you just shoot her?"

"JUDITH WOULDN'T HAVE NEEDED SAVING IF HER AND HER PEOPLE HAD JUST LEFT US THE FUCK ALONE!" Beth screamed shrilly. There were tears streaming down her face now, and she didn't know when they had started. He was right of course, and she was already starting to regret what she had done. Damn Daryl for pointing it out!

He softened as he looked as her and said in a softer voice, "here, take lil' ass kicker and get in the car. I'll be there in a minute."

She nodded slowly and did as she was told, feeling lower than dirt and like a disobedient child all at the same time. What had she done? Her father had barely been dead 48 hours and she had gone against everything he'd ever taught her.

Daryl couched down by the woman, who was clutching her side and trying to control her breathing.

"What's your name?" he asked in a low soothing voice.

"Tara," she ground out between gritted teeth.

"Well Tara, she prolly never would've done somethin' like that if you fucks had'n gone an' cut off her father's fuckin' head two days ago."

Tara nodded, tears welling up in her eyes from the pain and the sorrow she felt whenever she thought about the kind old man dying.

"Tell her I'm sorry about that. Tell her I never knew it was going to happen like that… If I'd known, if I'd gone with my gut more…" she squeezed her eyes shut, refusing to cry in front of this angry stranger who was about to watch her die.

"You can tell 'er yourself. I wouldn't mind, but I know that girl in there'd never live with herself if we left you out here to die," he said gruffly, crouching down further, "So brace yourself, cause I'm bout to lift you. It's gonna hurt like a bitch, but you're coming with us."


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

"Put her down slowly," Beth instructed Daryl as he carried Tara into the suite. Beth hadn't spoken when he brought the wounded woman into the car, just nodded and driven straight back the the hotel. Now they were back on the fifth floor, in one of the corner suites. Beth and Daryl had decided it was the safest place in the hotel for them to hole up while they'd been clearing the halls. Each of the floors had areas you could close off with fire doors, and when they shut them off it secluded them in a hall of rooms where there were no walkers, but where there was still access to two staircases- one for fire a done for staff, in case they needed a way out. The suite had been perfect for the two of them, with a king bed in one room and a pull out couch in an attached den, giving them privacy without separating them too much if the worst went down. Beth had made a beeline towards the room when they got back to the hotel. As soon as she got to the room she had put Judith down where she could keep an eye in her, unfolded the pull out and thrown a sheet over over it. Noticing the determined look in her eye, Daryl bent down and laid the injured woman down gently, waiting for further instructions.

"Let me have your knife," Beth said in a flat voice. Daryl handed it over without a moments hesitation and Beth cut Tara's shirt off to get a better look at the wound she'd inflicted.

"Get me and mini bottles that are in the fridge, and bring me the sheets from off the bed."

Daryl did as he was told and Beth set to work. Tara was only half conscious by now, and had lost a lot of blood, but luckily the wound wasn't as bad as it could have been. The bullet had gone straight through her body and the best thing Beth could do for her was to clean the wound, stop the bleeding, and help her through her shock symptoms. She unscrewed a small bottle of vodka and tore one of the sheets into strips.

"Hold her arms," Beth murmured to Daryl. He grunted and grasped Tara's forearms firmly, pushing them into the mattress above her head. Beth poured the alcohol onto Tara's wound, shaking the injured woman out if her stupor and causing her the shriek and writhe with pain.

"What the fuck..." She moaned. "Stop! For the love of Christ!"

"Almost done," Beth said in a soothing voice, "I just need to wrap your wound."

Tara nodded, tears streaming down her face, and Daryl gripped her hand, lending her support.

"Ur almost done. Eyes here," he said gruffly and Tara nodded again sucking in a rattling breath. Beth placed a compress on the entrance wound and wrapped strips of sheets tightly around Tara's torso, tying the ends if the bandage off as securely as she could.

"Ok you can rest now, it's done," Beth murmured to Tara and then, turning to Daryl she added "Pull the comforter off the bed inside and wrap her. She's cold from the shock."

Beth wiped off the arms as best she could and then picked up Judith, who'd begun fussing after the prolonged period without attention. Bouncing the infant on her hip she looked out the window again, though she could only make out the shapes of buildings in the moonlight.

Daryl finished tucking Tara in quickly and made his way over to where Beth stood peering out the window. Despite the late hour he knew he needed to scavenge for supplies. He'd given the bottled water in the mini-fridge to Tara to help make up for the blood loss, and they needed more supplies in order to make sure they didn't get too hungry and dehydrated. He tapped Beth's shoulder and she turned around to face him. It was clear there were tears in her eyes almost ready to spill out, but she said nothing about it and Daryl knew she wouldn't thank him if he coaxed her into getting her emotions off her chest so he left it.

Judith complicated their situation big time, and he was just starting to appreciate how much. Someone was going to have to be with her, always, and that meant they either had to take her on runs with them or had to split up and leave each other to fend for themselves. It was not a good choice, and Daryl felt that now more than ever they needed to find the others in order to make it. He also felt that for tonight, it would be best if he went for supplies alone.

" I gotta make a run for stuff," he said in a low gravely voice, hoping that Beth would understand that he was going solo because they needed her here, and not because he didn't realize how much she helped on runs. She nodded slowly and looked back out the window.

For a second he thought that was all she was going to give him in response but as he was turning to go she said, "start with the staff supply closet on this floor. If you can get into it it might have a portacrib, extra sheets and things to restock the minibar. That should tide us over until there's more light to help make longer trips. There might even be a flashlight. Any medical supplies you find in there we could use too." He nodded, grateful for her input. He'd never stayed in a fancy hotel, and didn't realize they'd keep anything but brooms and cleaning supplies in the fifth floor staff closet.

Judith squirmed in Beth's grasp and reached her chubby baby arms out towards him cooing "Dare!" the version of his name she'd begun saying recently. He ruffled her hair affectionately and mumbled "you be good baby girl," to her quickly before turning to go.

"Daryl!" Beth called as he reached the suite door.

"Yeah?"

"Be safe."


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Daryl crept down the hall and edged open the fire doors slowly. The supply closet was on the other end of the hall, only about fifty yards from the safe zone behind the fire doors, but it was pitch black. All Daryl had was a zippo lighter and his other senses to protect him against any walkers who might have strayed up to the fifth floor. Almost everyone had noticed serious improvements in their night time senses since the dead rose, and Daryl, whose senses had always been sharp, could almost always judge the distance of a walker just from the gasping sounds it made. But that didn't stop him from feeling exposed and anxious as he shuffled down the hallway blind.

He was eight doors down when he heard the sound he'd been anticipating, the scratchy rasp and dragging gate of a walker. From his estimation it was fifteen feet away, but he couldn't be sure how high off the ground it was. The trick would be finding its brain before it got a hold of him. He waited for two seconds, then swung the knife he'd brought with him right at the source of the sound. It dropped the walker instantly but he stood still frozen in place for a moment longer to see if he could hear anything else moving towards him. After a few more moments in the silent darkness he started moving again.

It felt like an hour had passed by the time he finally got to the supply closet. Luckily there was no dead lock, and he was able to jimmy the lock by just inserting the knife tip into the door lock at the right angle after only a few tries. Mentally he added his lock picking gear to the growing list of things he wished he had from the prison.

Once inside he realized how much of a goldmine the closet was. There closet held all the restock supplies for the mini bar and after feeling his way around for a bit he found water, crackers, candy, and even half bottles of champagne. He grabbed stuffed what he found into a backpack and moved deeper into the closet, feeling his way along the shelves. After minutes of grabbing at cleaning supplies he hit the jackpot and finally laid his hand on a flashlight.

After that the run was a breeze, and he strode back confidently a few minutes later with two first aid kits and a port-a-crib slung over his shoulder in addition to the supplies Beth had sent him he'd scrounged in the dark.

Beth had been tense with the passing of every minute without Daryl. She'd begun keeping track of the inhales and exhales coming from Tara, hating herself for causing the situation but forcing herself to remain vigilant. If Tara slipped away she'd become a threat, and they couldn't have that, not with Judith in the room. She'd been so focused on fixing what she'd done that she hadn't stopped to think of what it'd mean if it weren't enough. Judith was dozing fitfully on the bed, she'd been fussy with hunger and thirst all night, but there was nothing Beth could do but wait for Daryl to return or Tara to pass.

Finally she heard his knock on the door and scurried across the room. Her relief must have shown because he looked down at her puzzled at first and then said sheepishly, "found bunch 'a stuff y'asked for…" and placed the port-a-crib down by the window.

"Thank you, so so much." Beth said breathlessly. It was amazing how much more useful she felt with things to work with. Within a few minutes she'd set up the crib and coaxed Judith into drinking some of the water and eating a bag of peanut M&Ms. Nutrition was a luxury they couldn't afford, and if Judith had something for tonight it'd be better than nothing. Daryl sat in the desk chair and watched her work. When she lay Judith back down, she walked over to him.

"Pretty good at this mom stuff," he said softly.

Beth blushed and brushed it off, "I'm not really, I'm just winging it for the most part."

"Gotta give yerself credit," he mumbled looking out the window, "you do a hell of a lot better'n lotta moms from before all this went down, 'n she ain't even yours."

His compliment meant a lot to her and she hated to ruin a moment when she was finally feeling like someone appreciated her as a useful member of the group with the cowardly thoughts that had been going around in her head. The thought of reminding Daryl he should think ill of her now brought tears back to her eyes but she swallowed them and made herself face it.

"What's up," he said noticing her wary look.

"We… can't let her stay in this room. Not when we don't know if she'll live or die. Not with Judith here. Only I know you've already done so much but I can't move her by myself. But I want to put her in the room next door," Beth whispered her eyes downcast.

"Don' feel bad, that's smart thinkin' on your part. We'll move her now."

Tara whimpered as he lifted her but was too weak to protest much, and after a few miuntes they'd put her in the adjacent room. Beth placed water, Gatorade and pain killers by her bedside and handed her a packet of peanut M&Ms but couldn't bring herself to look their patient in the eye. They did their best to secure her door and returned to their room.

The pullout had been utterly destroyed by blood, do Daryl set up on the floor leaving the king unquestionably for Beth.

"It's big enough for two people Daryl, I know you wouldn't try anything," she said softly, "I don't deserve to be treated like a princess, especially after today…"

Her voice broke on the last word and he found himself moving up to sit on the bed next to her moving to comfort her.

"He's been gone two days, and I've already let him down," she said in a small voice, staring down at her hands glumly.

"Shh. Your old man was one of the best people I ever met," he said honestly, "but even he wasn' perfect. 'N I figure, s'long as you try 'n do better after you fuck up, your headin' in the direction he'd want you ta go."

She reached for his hand where it was on his lap, a he stiffen awkwardly. She just squeezed it affectionately and replied "thanks Daryl" before ordering him to take the left side of the bed. It became clear after a few minutes that she had no intention of backing down, and he finally agreed, throwing himself down on top of the covers in his last half-ditch effort of protest.

When he woke the next morning he was still on top of the covers, but somehow he'd flung his arm out towards Beth and she was half lying on it, using his bicep as a pillow. The pressure hadn't woken him but rather a slight clicking sound, he realized a second late, and his blue eyes shot towards the door just in time to see someone open the door.

**Who do you think it is? Please Review!**


End file.
